ECE Commencement Exercises, Wednesday, December 17, 2003

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NC State's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering will confer degrees for BS, MS and PhD graduating students during its fall commencement exercises, Wednesday, December 17, 3:00 pm in Area 1 of the McKimmon Center, followed at about 4:00 P.M. by a reception in Area 2. NC State University exercises are at the RBC Center at 9:00am.

Dr. H. Troy Nagle (PhD Electrical Engineering, MD) Head of the Department of BioMedical Engineering will serve as commencement speaker. Nagle began his career with bachelorís and masters degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He earned his doctorate in engineering at Auburn University, where he specialized in digital systems research, a brand new field at that time. Nagle received his MD from the University of Miami in 1981.

A war veteran, Nagle has spent the past 20 years applying his knowledge to challenges in biomedical engineering. With his graduate students and collaborators at UNC-CH, he has developed tiny flexible sensors for use on mouse hearts. By studying the heartís electrical impulses researchers can learn how medicines and diseases affect this vital organ Another recent research effort is the development of an electronic ďnoseĒ (E-Nose) that can detect volatile chemicals or odors. A pump sucks air into a portal of the machine where an array of electronic sensors sends information about the odor to a computer which displays each odorís unique chemical pattern and compares it with a database based on human interpretation of a smell. The E-nose could have many potential applications in industry and agriculture, but this project to date has focused on detection of airborne hog odors, a significant problem in North Carolina.

Nagleís combination of medicine with engineering has benefited NC State in both research and teaching arenas. His programs in biomedical engineering, a cutting-edge discipline that promises to be essential to 21st century advances in medical knowledge, show the advantages of crafting a unique career path.